By Benjamin Pierce . . . Officials in two Rock County [WI] towns want more control over where sex offenders live, but a national organization said such restrictions hinder offender rehabilitation. The town of Johnstown and the town of Harmony have drafted ordinances regarding sex offenders. “Those people have to stay someplace, but it would just be nice if we…
Read MoreTag: rehabilitation
Update: Aurora, IL asked to rescind eviction of registrants at Wayside Cross
UPDATE 2: A suit has now been filed; this report comes from Illinois Voices. Mark Weinberg and Adele Nicholas filed suit against the city of Aurora July 19 in the US District Court for the Northeastern District of Illinois Eastern Division: This case is filed on behalf of 19 named individuals in the suit who are being forced to move…
Read MoreWayside Cross registrant staffer: “Right now I am scared and confused”
By Sandy . . . Illinois statute 720 ILCS 5/11-9.3(b-10) states, “It is unlawful for a child sex offender to knowingly reside within 500 feet of a playground, child care institution, day care center, part day child care facility, day care home, group day care home, or a facility providing programs or services exclusively directed toward persons under 18 years…
Read MoreNARSOL asks CA Dept. of Correction to cease sex offender discrimination
NARSOL Board of Directors . . . In 2016, California enacted a new penal code section that extended overnight family visitation to prisoners serving life sentences. But, through its rule-making process, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has unilaterally proposed excluding prisoners convicted of sexually-based offenses from enjoying these new privileges. NARSOL strongly protests this blanket exclusion which was…
Read MoreCandidate for judgeship defends choice of SO assistant
By Sandy . . . This is good news of the very best kind, the kind that shows people actually living out what they profess to believe. For those who remember To Kill a Mockingbird, the character of attorney Atticus Finch embodies this characteristic. In the novel a family friend tells Atticus’ little daughter, when she complains that her father…
Read MoreFormer sex offender can remain as town’s fire chief **Update**
**Roger resigned his position as fire chief after negative publicity about his status emerged. See https://narsol.org/2018/02/sex-offenders-decision-needed/** Associated Press . . . The mayor of a small Pennsylvania town is standing by its volunteer fire company’s re-election of a registered sex offender as its fire chief. Mayor Ann Louise Wagner says she and firefighters have been aware that Gilbert, an unpaid volunteer…
Read MoreS.O. policies driven by public misperceptions, not fact
By Lonnie Burton…. Public opinion toward crime is complex. Research shows that Americans strongly favor punitive measures to address criminal behavior while also demanding the rehabilitation and treatment of offenders. When it comes to sex offenses, it gets even more complicated. A 2015 study authored by Christina Mancini, an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Kristen Budd of MiamiUniversity…
Read MoreIs S.C. Supreme Court right? NO! says NARSOL’s E.D. Brenda Jones
By Gregory Yee…. Last week’s S.C. Supreme Court ruling that juveniles convicted of certain sex crimes must be registered for life on the state’s sex offender registry is drawing outcry from attorneys and researchers. The opinion, issued Wednesday, upheld a family court ruling on an April 2013 incident in Spartanburg County in which a 14-year-old sexually assaulted a 5-year-old. The…
Read MoreNBC story by Tony Dokoupil: “My Son, the Sex Offender: One Mother’s Mission to Fight the Law”
In the run up to Halloween one year, Sharie Keil saw something that really made her jump: Missouri governor Jay Nixon, then the attorney general. He was on television to announce that registered sex offenders were hereby banned from participating in her favorite holiday. On threat of a year in jail, they had to stay inside and display a sign…
Read More